A short virtual tour of Middlebury College's biomass plant, which opened in January 2009.

In exploring alternative fuel sources for the many coal burning powerplants in Ohio, biomass is an obvious alternative. Our bright green proposal is to make hemp biomass the center of a bright new economy in this state. Below is how one great university has used wood biomass (as UNC plans) to move to carbon neutrality and the forefront of bright, green college leadership. But, they don't use hemp...  no university does, yet...

From the Middlebury College website, about their biomass initiative:

A Milestone Toward Carbon Neutrality

Our biomass gasification plant represents eight years of creative collaboration among Middlebury students, faculty, staff, and trustees. It will

• cut Middlebury’s carbon dioxide output by 40 percent,
• reduce our use of fuel oil by 50 percent,
• stimulate a local, renewable energy economy.

A sustainability leader for over 40 years, Middlebury College is now tackling climate change, the most critical challenge of our time. Our new biomass plant shows what concerned people can ignite when they work together. We celebrated the launch of the new biomass facility in February with an event featuring remarks by President Ron Liebowitz and a talk by scholar-in-residence Bill McKibben.

To learn more about how biomass gasification works, explore this site, read the FAQs, or watch the video tour. The video walks you through the plant and explains the benefits of this gasification technology.

Won’t you join us in cutting carbon? We invite you to explore this site to learn more about biomass and other ways to take your own steps against climate change.  Click on “Take a Step” to measure your own carbon footprint—you can also join teams to compete in cutting carbon.